From The Board Room
ATHN is pleased to announce recent additions to its staff and Board of Directors.
In January, Tami Wood-Lively, JD, MHA will join the ATHN team as its first Director of Affiliate Services. A founding Director of ATHN’s Board of Director’s and Chair of ATHN’s Data Access, Privacy from 2007- 2009,Tami brings considerable experience in health care law and national HTC network coordination to her responsibilities for ATHN Affiliate recruitment and qualification. This includes directing the ATHN Affiliate service portfolio and related legal relationships as ATHN extends its reach outside the federally funded HTC network to hemostasis and thrombosis treatment centers and research sites. A top priority will be developing and implementing an expansion plan that includes characterization of potential new affiliate categories, prioritization of recruitment, service offerings by category, financial considerations and assessment of the operational impact. Tami has developed a broad and comprehensive perspective on the needs of HTCs over the course of her recent 12-year tenure as Coordinator, Federal Hemophilia Region V-East in Ann Arbor, MI. A former NHF James Early Advocate of the Year, she has also published and presented widely on the need for a national information infrastructure to improve emergency and disaster preparedness in the hemostasis and thrombosis community as well as on ethics in the delivery of care in the hemophilia community. We look forward to her continued dedication and commitment to fulfilling ATHN’s mission and vision. Tami will report to Diane Aschman, ATHN President and CEO. She can be reached at her new email address: twood-lively@athn.org.
The new year brings two new members to the ATHN Board of Directors, Barbara Konkle, MD, Full Member, Puget Sound Blood Center, Seattle, WA, and Christine Guelcher, ARNP, MSN, PNP, pediatric nurse practitioner and nurse coordinator in the division of hematology at Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC.
ATHN’s Nominating Committee sought candidates with significant research experience and expertise to guide our future direction. A strong collaborative approach, familiarity with and commitment to ATHN’s strategic directions and mid-career active involvement in the community were other desired characteristics. Consistent with its multidisciplinary perspective, the Nominating Committee recommended that Board leadership would benefit from a nursing perspective. Applications for Board positions were published on the ATHN website. ATHN Affiliates were notified of the application process and timeline.
Barb has been involved in research and clinical care in disorders of coagulation for the past 25 years and brings a wealth of experience working in the HTC community. A former director of both the Cardeza Foundation Hemophilia Center and the Penn Comprehensive Hemophilia Center, Barb also served as Regional Director of Federal Region III for 12 years. In addition, Barb brings significant experience with NIH-funded studies for clinical and translational research and has national positions related to clinical research and data collection. Reflecting on her interest in the Board, Barb stated, “I think that ATHN has great promise to fill a need for the hemophilia research, provider and patient populations in providing the framework for data collection to allow research in outcomes, rare disorders and other aspects of the bleeding and thrombotic disorders. As other countries have shown us, incredible information can be gained by having robust and uniform data collection.”
An HTC nurse for 13 years, Chris transitions to the Board from her role on ATHN’s Community Relations and Communications committee. “I would really like to lend my experience and enthusiasm to the Board while representing the nurses who work within the ATHN Affiliates,” stated Chris in her application. She brings considerable experience working in the bleeding disorders community, including work to develop and teach the curriculum-based Advanced Partners program in conjunction with the CDC and the Indiana Thrombosis and Hemostasis Program and now coordinated through the NHF. Chris also participates on the Program Planning Committee for the Hemostasis and Thrombosis Research Society (HTRS), developing the first nursing symposia in an effort to increase nursing participation in annual HTRS meetings.
ATHN looks forward to working with Barb and Chris as it takes its agenda forward in 2010.
